Joe Friesen, "Red Delicious most nutritious", Globe and Mail,
May 24, 2005, Link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/Ar-
ticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050524/APPLES24/TPHealth/

An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but new research
shows that when it comes to healthy eating, not all apples are
created equal.

A study by scientists at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to
be published this week indicates that of the eight main
varieties of apple grown in Ontario, the Red Delicious is the
most nutritious.

Red Delicious apples contain more than five times as many
antioxidants as Empire apples, the variety with the
lowest antioxidant level, said the study's lead
researcher, Rong Tsao.

"Redder apples are generally richer in antioxidants than pale
coloured apples," Dr. Tsao said, explaining that antioxidants
are the "good chemicals in fruits and vegetables that help us
fight cancers and cardiovascular diseases.

"These are the compounds that are known to fight with the
so-called free radicals in our body."

"The free radicals are the culprits of modern human chronic
diseases."

The study is notable because it pinpoints for the first time
the individual molecules that contribute most to antioxidant
activities in apples. Those molecules were found to be much
more prevalent in the skin of the apple than in the flesh of
the fruit, leading Dr. Tsao to recommend Canadians put down
their peelers and eat the whole apple.

Identifying those molecules will also help scientists such
as Dr. Tsao as they try to produce new breeds of apples
that could potentially contain more concentrated
nutritional benefits.

"So instead of eating two [apples], or even one, you can cut
the [portion] size in half," Dr. Tsao said.

There were significant differences in the antioxidant levels
of the apple varieties used in the study.

The flesh of the Northern Spy was found to be richest in
antioxidants, while the Empire and the Mutsu had the lowest
levels in both their flesh and skin. All the apples used in
the study were grown at the same orchard near Woodstock, Ont.,
and under the same agronomic conditions to guarantee the
consistency of the results.

Dr. Tsao, who works out of the federal Department of
Agriculture and Agri-Food's lab in Guelph, Ont., said the
results don't necessarily mean consumers will change their
apple-eating habits, or that farmers should start
producing only certain varieties.

"Food is a very interesting thing. People don't always choose
food by what is most nutritious," he said.

Apples, which he believes are the second most commonly
consumed fruit after bananas, are not as rich in antioxidants
as blueberries or blackberries. They are, however, more
affordable, more widely available and more robust when it
comes to storage, which means that an apple a day may the most
effective means of ensuring a healthy dose of antioxidants.

Ds. Tsao now plans to use his findings to work with companies
in the apple juicing industry to create new products from
apple waste. The juicing industry typically discards the
peels, he said, which are rich in antioxidants. That
material could be reworked and sold as a new kind of
nutritional product for human or animal consumption.

The study will be published on-line this week in the Journal
of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Other popular apple
varieties, such as the Granny Smith or the Gala, were left out
of the study because they are not grown locally.

A new study on apples shows that of the eight main varieties
grown in Ontario, Red Delicious has the most antioxidant
activity. Antioxidants in apples have been associated with
lowered risks for certain kinds of cancer.

THE APPLE SKIN TOP 8*

Red Delicious; 17,851

Ida Red; 12,083

Cortland; 11,908

Northern Spy; 10,044

Golden Delicious; 9,616

Mutsu; 6,820

McIntosh; 6.436

Empire; 2,736

THE APPLE FLESH TOP 8*

Northern Spy; 6,425

Cortland; 3,660

Red Delicious; 3,215

MacIntosh; 2,785

Ida Red; 2,749

Golden Delicious; 2,036

Mutsu; 1,584

Empire; 550

*Measured in FRAP units of antioxidant activity - FRAP is a
commonly used measure of antioxidant activity

SOURCE: DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND AGRI FOOD

In article
<1117038359.979292.4850~z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com>, Roman
Bystrianyk <rbystrianyk~gmail.com> wrote:
  >Joe Friesen, "Red Delicious most nutritious", Globe and Mail,
  >May 24, 2005, Link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/A-
  >rticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050524/APPLES24/TPHealth/
  >
  >An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but new research
  >shows that when it comes to healthy eating, not all apples
  >are created equal.
  >
  >A study by scientists at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to
  >be published this week indicates that of the eight main
  >varieties of apple grown in Ontario, the Red Delicious is the
  >most nutritious.

I wish this test had been done on those apples that deluge the
USA from Washington state every year. They are picked so early
that they taste like cardboard by the time they get to the
store. I can't imagine their nutrition is all that wonderful,
either. The test apples in this study were locally-grown.

-- David Wright :: alphabeta at prodigy.net These are my
opinions only, but they're almost always correct. "I don't
need someone to tell me that George W. Bush is a deceitful,
corrupt, clever and destructive man--that's pretty clear on
the face of it." -- Garrison Keillor

David Wright wrote:
  > In article
  > <1117038359.979292.4850~z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com>, Roman
  > Bystrianyk <rbystrianyk~gmail.com> wrote:
     > >Joe Friesen, "Red Delicious most nutritious", Globe and
     > >Mail, May 24, 2005, Link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/s-
     > >ervlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050524/APPLES24/TPHealth/
     > >
     > >An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but new research
     > >shows that when it comes to healthy eating, not all apples
     > >are created equal.
     > >
     > >A study by scientists at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
     > >to be published this week indicates that of the eight main
     > >varieties of apple grown in Ontario, the Red Delicious is
     > >the most nutritious.
  >
  > I wish this test had been done on those apples that deluge
  > the USA from Washington state every year. They are picked so
  > early that they taste like cardboard by the time they get to
  > the store. I can't imagine their nutrition is all that
  > wonderful, either. The test apples in this study were
  > locally-grown.
  >
  > -- David Wright :: alphabeta at prodigy.net These are my
  > opinions only, but they're almost always correct. "I don't
  > need someone to tell me that George W. Bush is a
  > deceitful, corrupt, clever and destructive man--that's
  > pretty clear on the face of it." -- Garrison Keillor

The problem with this kind of quantification of nutrients in
produce is that the various produce's nutrient values will
vary considerably due to many, many, factors, such as:

1) the variety of the crop
2) the health and nutrient content of the soil it is grown in
3) the weather, ie. temperatures and amount of rainfall,
during the growth period
4) the quality of the water, ie. rain water vs.
irrigation water
5) the time of picking of the produce, ie. before ripe, at
ripe, after ripe
6) the length of time in storage and/or transit
7) the conditions it is exposed to in storage and/or in
transit, ie. extreme heat or cold or nice cool
temperatures, the air-tightness of the containers, etc.
etc.

The nutritive values will only apply to the specific batch of
apples tested, from the specific field they were grown and in
the year they were grown. The values cannot be assumed for the
same variety of apples grown in a different field on different
soil, in a different year, picked at a different time, stored
for a different length of time, etc.

They are trying to determine values that are extremely
transient in nature.

TC

"I wish this test had been done on those apples that deluge
the USA from Washington state every year. They are picked so
early that they taste like cardboard by the time they get to
the store. I can't imagine their nutrition is all that
wonderful, either. The test"

The variety of apple in question is the most grown in the US
and the most grown in washington state orchards and more often
found in grocery stores then any other. Taste has been lost in
favor of appearence in this variety but apprently not at the
cost of important nutrients. Unlike much citrus fruit and the
variety of bananna we get, apples are not picked at an
immature stage for the most part because they stop ripening
when picked and are stored in low oxyegen enviroments to
retard spoilage.

In article <4296089c$0$3456$4d5ecec7~reader.city-net.com>,
<calypso47~voyager.net> wrote:
  >"I wish this test had been done on those apples that deluge
  >the USA from Washington state every year. They are picked so
  >early that they taste like cardboard by the time they get to
  >the store. I can't imagine their nutrition is all that
  >wonderful, either. The test"
  >
  >The variety of apple in question is the most grown in the US
  >and the most grown in washington state orchards and more
  >often found in grocery stores then any other. Taste has been
  >lost in favor of appearence in this variety but apprently not
  >at the cost of important nutrients. Unlike much citrus fruit
  >and the variety of bananna we get, apples are not picked at
  >an immature stage for the most part because they stop
  >ripening when picked and are stored in low oxyegen
  >enviroments to retard spoilage.

Quite so. I think they use nitrogen, at least in some cases.

This still doesn't explain why the Washington state red
delicious apples taste so lousy.

-- David Wright :: alphabeta at prodigy.net These are my
opinions only, but they're almost always correct. "I don't
need someone to tell me that George W. Bush is a deceitful,
corrupt, clever and destructive man--that's pretty clear on
the face of it." -- Garrison Keillor

Welcome to the real world, it is quite a messy place. Do you
think the researchers are unaware of this and don't try to
control for as many variables as possible? As I recall without
rereading, all the trees for all the varieties were from the
same orchard.

"The problem with this kind of quantification of nutrients in
produce is that the various produce's nutrient values will
vary considerably due to many, many, factors, such as:

1) the variety of the crop 2) the health and nutrient content
of the soil it is grown in 3) the weather, ie.
temperatures and amount of rainfall, during the growth
period 4) the quality of the water, ie. rain water vs.
irrigation water 5) the time of picking of the produce,
ie. before ripe, at ripe, after ripe 6) the length of time
in storage and/or transit 7) the conditions it is exposed
to in storage and/or in transit, ie. extreme heat or cold
or nice cool temperatures, the air-tightness of the
containers, etc. etc.

The nutritive values will only apply to the specific batch of
apples tested, from the specific field they were grown and in
the year they were grown. The values cannot be assumed for the
same variety of apples grown in a different field on different
soil, in a different year, picked at a different time, stored
for a different length of time, etc. They are trying to
determine values that are extremely transient in nature."

<calypso47~voyager.net> wrote in message
news:42975603$0$3457$4d5ecec7~reader.city-net.com...
  > "This still doesn't explain why the Washington state red
  > delicious apples taste so lousy."
  >
  > As mentioned in the original post, taste was sacrificed
  > for appearance. Customers want a largish totaly
  > unblimished symetrical fruit on their store shelves.
  > Giving them what they wanted by selective breeding over
  > generations did the trick.

I do not claim to be an expert in orchardry, but I was under
the impression that all varietals of apples were propagated by
grafting and that all Red Delicious apples were thus, in a
sense, from the same tree, and genetically identical. Do
orchardists actually selectively breed Red Delicious apples
for marketable characteristics?

--Rich

David Wright wrote:
  > In article <4296089c$0$3456$4d5ecec7~reader.city-net.com>,
  > <calypso47~voyager.net> wrote:
  >
     >>"I wish this test had been done on those apples that deluge
     >>the USA from Washington state every year. They are picked so
     >>early that they taste like cardboard by the time they get to
     >>the store. I can't imagine their nutrition is all that
     >>wonderful, either. The test"
     >>
     >>The variety of apple in question is the most grown in the US
     >>and the most grown in washington state orchards and more
     >>often found in grocery stores then any other. Taste has been
     >>lost in favor of appearence in this variety but apprently
     >>not at the cost of important nutrients. Unlike much citrus
     >>fruit and the variety of bananna we get, apples are not
     >>picked at an immature stage for the most part because they
     >>stop ripening when picked and are stored in low oxyegen
     >>enviroments to retard spoilage.
  >
  >
  > Quite so. I think they use nitrogen, at least in some cases.
  >
  > This still doesn't explain why the Washington state red
  > delicious apples taste so lousy.

Having lived in WA, albeit over 30 years ago, I can attest to
the fact that the ones bought in-state exceed the ones bought
in NY since I experienced both.

In article <T%Fle.3233$So7.3110~fe10.lga>, Mark Probert
<markprobert~lumbercartel.com> wrote:
  >David Wright wrote:
     >> In article <4296089c$0$3456$4d5ecec7~reader.city-net.com>,
     >> <calypso47~voyager.net> wrote:
     >>
       >>>"I wish this test had been done on those apples that deluge
       >>>the USA from Washington state every year. They are picked
       >>>so early that they taste like cardboard by the time they
       >>>get to the store. I can't imagine their nutrition is all
       >>>that wonderful, either. The test"
       >>>
       >>>The variety of apple in question is the most grown in the
       >>>US and the most grown in washington state orchards and more
       >>>often found in grocery stores then any other. Taste has
       >>>been lost in favor of appearence in this variety but
       >>>apprently not at the cost of important nutrients. Unlike
       >>>much citrus fruit and the variety of bananna we get, apples
       >>>are not picked at an immature stage for the most part
       >>>because they stop ripening when picked and are stored in
       >>>low oxyegen enviroments to retard spoilage.
     >>
     >> Quite so. I think they use nitrogen, at least in some
     >> cases.
     >>
     >> This still doesn't explain why the Washington state red
     >> delicious apples taste so lousy.
  >
  >Having lived in WA, albeit over 30 years ago, I can attest to
  >the fact that the ones bought in-state exceed the ones bought
  >in NY since I experienced both.

It's prepostrous that apples are actually transported from
Washington to NY in the first place, as NY is one of the
largest apple-producing states. Talk about carrying coals to
Newcastle (and bad-tasting coals at that)...

-- David Wright :: alphabeta at prodigy.net These are my
opinions only, but they're almost always correct. "I don't
need someone to tell me that George W. Bush is a deceitful,
corrupt, clever and destructive man--that's pretty clear on
the face of it." -- Garrison Keillor

"David Wright" <wright~l1000.prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:iO_le.2431$2u1.522~newssvr19.news.prodigy.com...
  > It's prepostrous that apples are actually transported from
  > Washington to NY in the first place, as NY is one of the
  > largest apple-producing states.

We don't grow Red Delicious very well so it not uncommon to
find Washington apples here. We grow some mean macs(plus a
variey of others) that are hard to beat in nutrition or taste.

Doug Freese wrote:
  > "David Wright" <wright~l1000.prodigy.net> wrote in message
  > news:iO_le.2431$2u1.522~newssvr19.news.prodigy.com...
  >
     >>It's prepostrous that apples are actually transported from
     >>Washington to NY in the first place, as NY is one of the
     >>largest apple-producing states.
  >
  >
  >
  > We don't grow Red Delicious very well so it not uncommon
  > to find Washington apples here. We grow some mean
  > macs(plus a variey of others) that are hard to beat in
  > nutrition or taste.

With different growing seasons and climates, not all varieties
of apples can be grown in the same place.

On 25 May 2005 09:26:00 -0700, "Roman Bystrianyk"
<rbystrianyk~gmail.com> wrote:

  >A study by scientists at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to
  >be published this week indicates that of the eight main
  >varieties of apple grown in Ontario, the Red Delicious is the
  >most nutritious.
  >
  >Red Delicious apples contain more than five times as many
  >antioxidants as Empire apples, the variety with the
  >lowest antioxidant level, said the study's lead
  >researcher, Rong Tsao.

Well, I would say, back to Lobo!!

On 25 May 2005 09:26:00 -0700, "Roman Bystrianyk"
<rbystrianyk~gmail.com> wrote:

  >Red Delicious apples contain more than five times as many
  >antioxidants as Empire apples, the variety with the
  >lowest antioxidant level, said the study's lead
  >researcher, Rong Tsao.

Wonder where Red Ingrid Marie would fell here :-)

On Thu, 26 May 2005 02:31:32 GMT, wright~l1000.prodigy.net
(David Wright) wrote:

  >I wish this test had been done on those apples that deluge
  >the USA from Washington state every year. They are picked so
  >early that they taste like cardboard by the time they get to
  >the store. I can't imagine their nutrition is all that
  >wonderful, either. The test apples in this study were
  >locally-grown.

That's how they taste when arriving Norway too. Can't imagine
any varities so tasteless as Red Delicious. (Agree the shining
red skin (from waxing and highly polishing them) make them
very delicious. But you learn quickly :-) )

On 28 May 2005 17:25:59 GMT, calypso47~voyager.net wrote:

  >"I do not claim to be an expert in orchardry, but I was under
  >the impression that all varietals of apples were propagated
  >by grafting and that all Red Delicious apples were thus, in a
  >sense, from the same tree, and genetically identical. Do
  >orchardists actually selectively breed Red Delicious apples
  >for marketable characteristics?"

It is well known that even when forming by grafting, spurs
may happen and you get new varieties. Natural background
irradiation is the source of such spurs. Many new varities
has been detected that way, like Ingrid Marie and Red Ingrid
Marie (the big difference is in color satiation. Ingrid Marie
looks like Red Delicious except not shiny, while Red Ingrid
Marie is far darker in color. And in Scandinavia, another
spur formed from parent is Red Torstein from Torstein.
(Seldom grown today)